Bridge rehab, final two capital works underway on Western Roads Upgrade

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Work is underway on bridge improvement works and the final two road upgrades as part of the $1.8 billion Western Roads Upgrade.

Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan joined project team members from Netflow and Major Road Projects Victoria on the site of the first bridge upgrade in Spotswood in western Melbourne.

Piling work, new safety barriers and corrosion protection upgrades are underway to strengthen and protect the bridge for the more than 14,000 drivers and hundreds of trucks which travel over it each day.

The Ballarat Road bridge, spanning the Maribyrnong River, will be upgraded next month – adding new safety barriers and strengthening the bridge to better cater for heavy vehicles.

Work to improve crossings in Altona, Brooklyn and along Geelong Road will begin later this year.

Construction work is also getting underway at the Forsyth Road / Princes Freeway interchange and along Palmers Road, with all eight major capital works upgrades now underway.

New lanes will be added to Palmers Road between the Princes Freeway and the Western Freeway, 16 intersections will be upgraded, and the Sayers Road intersection will be smoothed out to improve journeys for 11,000 drivers.

The Forsyth Road interchange upgrade will also see new lanes added, improved access to the Princes Freeway and better north-south traffic flow for 28,000 drivers every day.

More than 1,100 workers are helping deliver the Western Roads Upgrade with major construction due for completion by 2021.

In addition, more than 260 kilometres of arterial roads are being improved, resurfaced and rehabilitated from Footscray to Werribee ahead of a 20-year maintenance program.

As part of the works, an iconic sculpture will be built at the upgraded Duncans Road / Princes Freeway interchange.

Australia’s largest sculpture park, Melbourne-based McClelland Sculpture Park+Gallery will drive the selection of the new sculpture, and artists with a connection to the western suburbs are encouraged to apply to create it.

The Netflow consortium – comprising Cintra and Plenary Group as joint project sponsors and joint SPV managers; Plenary as financial arranger; WBHO Infrastructure as design and construction lead; local contractors Ace Contractors, Civilex, Fortunato Group, Negri Contractors and Winslow Constructors; and the Amey and Broadspectrum joint venture as services contractor – is contracted by the Victorian Government to design, build, finance, and maintain the project for 23 years in partnership with Major Road Projects Victoria.